Two Men Arrested in 2010 Key West Gold Bar Theft
from Mel Fisher Maritime Museum

Authorities say two men have been arrested in the 2010 theft of a museum’s 17th-century gold bar, valued at $550,000.

A U.S. Department of Justice statement says 41-year-old Richard Steven Johnson, of Rio Linda, California, and 32-year-old Jarred Alexander Goldman, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, were arrested Monday and charged with conspiring to steal and stealing the gold bar from the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum in Key West.

Both await arraignment. It wasn’t known if they have lawyers.

(above) A boy picks up the gold bar in a photo taken before the theft.

The 74.8-ounce (2.1-kilogram) bar was found in 1980 on a 1622 Spanish galleon wreck off the Florida Keys by the late shipwreck salvor Mel Fisher. Authorities say it hasn’t been recovered.

The artifact was long displayed in an acrylic museum case, allowing visitors to touch and lift it.

A message from the President and CEO ...

On behalf of the museum, our trustees, supporters and visitors we want to thank the law enforcement efforts that led to the arrest of two men, charged in the 2010 theft of the museum’s gold bar.

Throughout the process museum staff have assisted the Key West Police Department, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, and the FBI by providing documentation and pursuing answers to any and all questions from investigators. Our city should take great pride in the law enforcement community who have worked since August 2010 to get to yesterday’s arrests.

We are now hoping for a positive outcome in locating and recovering the bar itself. While I say thank you for where we are today, nothing would make us happier than celebrating a safe return for our world-famous gold bar.

Melissa Kendrick
President/CEO
Mel Fisher Maritime Museum

GIVING
The Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society is a
501 (c)(3) accredited,
not-for-profit organization existing for the purpose of accumulating and disseminating information; providing educational services to the public on maritime and colonial activity in the New World and preserving maritime culture resources.